Data Scientist

RISE Data Scientist

Reports to: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager

Salary: Competitive and commensurate with experience

Location: New Haven, CT (Hybrid or Remote)

Overview:

The RISE Network’s mission is to ensure all high school students graduate with a plan and the skills and confidence to achieve college and career success. Founded in 2016, RISE partners with public high schools to lead networks where communities work together to use data to learn and improve. Through its core and most comprehensive network, RISE partners with nine high schools and eight districts, serving over 13,000 students in historically marginalized communities.

RISE high schools work together to ensure all students experience success as they transition to, through, and beyond high school by using data to pinpoint needs, form hypotheses, and pursue ideas to advance student achievement. Partner schools have improved Grade 9 promotion rates by nearly 20 percentage points, while also decreasing subgroup gaps and increasing schoolwide graduation and college access rates. In 2021, the RISE Network was honored to receive the Carnegie Foundation’s annual Spotlight on Quality in Continuous Improvement recognition. Increasingly, RISE is pursuing opportunities to scale its impact through research publications, consulting partnerships, professional development experiences, and other avenues to drive excellent student outcomes.

Position Summary and Essential Job Functions:

The RISE Data Scientist will play a critical role in leveraging data to support continuous improvement, program evaluation, and research, enhancing the organization’s evidence-based learning and decision-making. RISE is seeking a talented and motivated individual to design and conduct rigorous quantitative analyses to assess the outcomes and impacts of programs.

The ideal candidate is an experienced analyst who is passionate about using data to drive social change, with strong skills in statistical modeling, data visualization, and research design. This individual will also lead efforts to monitor and analyze organization-wide data related to mission progress and key performance indicators (KPIs), and communicate these insights in ways that inspire improvement and action. This is an exciting opportunity for an individual who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment and is passionate about closing opportunity gaps and supporting the potential of all students, regardless of life circumstances. The role will report to the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Manager and sit on the MEL team.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Research and Evaluation (30%)

• Collaborate with MEL and network teams to design and implement rigorous process, outcome, and impact evaluations.
• Lead in the development of data collection tools and survey instruments.
• Manage survey data collection, reporting, and learning processes.
• Develop RISE learning and issue briefs supported by quantitative analysis.
• Design and implement causal inference approaches where applicable, including quasi-experimental designs.
• Provide technical input on statistical analysis plans, monitoring frameworks, and indicator selection for network programs.
• Translate complex findings into actionable insights and policy-relevant recommendations for non-technical audiences.
• Report data for RISE leadership and staff, generating new insights to inform program design.
• Create written reports, presentations, publications, and communications pieces.

2. Quantitative Analysis and Statistical Modeling (30%)

• Clean, transform, and analyze large and complex datasets from internal surveys, the RISE data warehouse, and external data sources such as the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC).
• Conduct exploratory research that informs organizational learning.
• Lead complex statistical analyses using advanced methods (regression modeling, propensity score matching, difference in differences analysis, time-series analysis, etc).
• Contribute to data cleaning and analysis for key performance indicator reporting.
• Develop processes that support automation of cleaning and analysis for efficiency.
• Develop and maintain analytical code and workflows to ensure reproducibility.

3. Data Visualization and Tool-building (30%)

• Work closely with non-technical stakeholders to understand the question(s) they are asking and the use cases they have for specific data visualizations or tools
• Develop well-documented overviews and specifications for new tools.
• Create clear, compelling data visualizations and dashboards.
• Collaborate with Data Engineering to appropriately and sustainably source data for new tools.
• Manage complex projects to build novel and specific tools for internal or external stakeholders.
• Maintain custom tools for the duration of their usefulness, including by responding to feedback and requests from project stakeholders.

4. Data Governance and Quality Assurance (10%)

• Support data quality assurance protocols and standards across the MEL team.
• Ensure compliance with data protection, security, and ethical standards.
• Maintain organized, well-documented code and databases.
• Collaborate with the Data Engineering team to maintain RISE MEL data infrastructure.

Qualifications

Required

• Master’s degree (or PhD) in statistics, economics, quantitative social sciences, public policy, data science, or related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of professional experience conducting statistical analysis and managing large datasets.
• Advanced proficiency in R, Python, or Stata for data analysis and modeling.
• Experience designing and implementing quantitative research and evaluation studies.
• Strong understanding of inferential statistics, experimental and quasi-experimental methods, and sampling design.
• Strong knowledge of survey data collection tools such as Key Surveys, Google Forms, etc.
• Excellent data visualization and communication skills
• Experience with data visualization tools; strong preference for Tableau.
• Ability to translate complex data into insights for diverse audiences, including non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to cultivate relationships and earn credibility with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Strong sense of accountability and responsibility for results.
• Ability to work in an independent and self-motivated manner.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Google Workspace.
• Commitment to equity, ethics, and learning in a nonprofit or mission-driven context.
• Positive attitude and willingness to work in a collaborative environment.
• Strong belief that all students can learn and achieve at high levels.

Preferred

• Experience working on a monitoring, evaluation, and learning team.
• Familiarity with school data systems and prior experience working in a school, district, or similar K-12 educational context preferred.
• Experience working with survey data (e.g., DHS, LSMS), administrative datasets, or real-time digital data sources.
• Working knowledge of data engineering or database management (SQL, cloud-based platforms).

Salary Range

$85k - 105k

Most new hires' salaries fall within the first half of the range, allowing team members to grow in their roles. For those who already have significant and aligned experiences at the same level as the role, placement may be at the higher end of the range.

The Connecticut RISE Network is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes candidates from diverse backgrounds.